Video: Ref Gets Whacked In The Face

In a club rugby match at the Basin Reserve, this unfortunate referee walked straight into a kick-off after momentarily losing track of his positioning.

And that constitutes a top class falcon.

The term originated on the Footy Show in Australia, where casual presenter Mario Fenech’s weekly segment was introduced by a clip from his playing days showing a ball being accidentally passed straight into his head.

Fenech, of Maltese descent, has the nickname “The Maltese Falcon”, and thus the ‘Golden Falcon Award’ began to be informally awarded to players whose head came into contact with the football in professional matches.

This was shortened to just ‘falcon’, and its use became more widespread, referring to any instance of an object coming into contact with a person’s head. *Source: NZ Herald

Speaking of Falcons… Have you seen Matt Toomua’s unfortunate whack to the face against New Zealand the weekend? Keep an eye out for Quade Coopers brilliant reaction!

Jason Hennessy

Jason is the editor at RugbyLAD. Any queries big or small you can reach him at [email protected]